The Lost Daughter: A Criminal Minds Fanfic
by Underland Champion 2106
Summary: Half of this story centers around the case itself, but the other centers around the daughter that one member of the team never knew he had. This team member does not discover this fact until he is faced with the possibility of losing her forever to a deranged killer who has become obsessed with her.
1. Preface

Preface

The house was silent. Alice crept carefully from the closet where she had been hiding; her mother had shoved her in there when she heard a downstairs window shatter. She found her mother lying on the living room floor, her body bruised and bloody. Alice couldn't understand why anyone would do this. What had her mother done to deserve this? She never hurt anyone! She didn't deserve to die. It wasn't fair! She flung herself down and clung to her mother.

"Don't leave me mom…please hold on…please!" Alice could see lights flashing from down the street and could hear sirens wailing.

"Your father should be here soon….." her mother mumbled, her glazing eyes trying to focus on the lights.

"My….father….?" She was stunned. Her mother had spoken of her father before….but it had always sounded as if he had died. She had never met him. Never seen him…not even in pictures. She didn't even know his name. "What do you mean my father…? He's dead…isn't he….?"

"No….he's…..with the FBI….a profiler…." Her mother said…her voice was becoming weaker and weaker. She smiled sadly. "You'll know him when you see him….you look so much like him…." She closed her eyes and was gone.

"Mom….?" Silence. "MOM?!" She started sobbing. "MOMMY!"

The door banged open. "FBI!" A blond haired woman and a man with fluffy brown hair ran over to her. The rest of them went to check the house.

"You won't find him….he's long gone…" Alice said, choking back a sob. "Just like mom…" The blond woman pulled her into a hug. She just sat there. The others came back into the room. Alice looked at them and knew instantly who her father was.


	2. Child Prodigy Babysitting Services

Alice: "Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not: nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not: the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent."

-Calvin Coolidge.

Ch 1

The young man walked alone down the street. He had been working all day and he was completely exhausted. He looked down at his watch and sighed, "Dammit…Ana is going to kill me." This day had been absolutely terrible for Ray. First he was called in early to his terrible job, then his boss had screamed at him for no good reason, then he was forced to work through lunch and then stay late without being paid over time. And as if that wasn't enough his car broke down half way home and after paying the tow truck he didn't have enough money left to call a cab. "Ah great! " He yelled, "Just freakin' fantastic!" Now on top of everything else it was raining.

So he staggered on down the street, still with at least 5 miles to go before he reached home. He was distracted by his angry grumbling by the sound of crying. He stopped and looked around until he saw where the crying was coming from. It was a child, hiding behind a dumpster. Ray went to the child and crouched down to her level. "Are you lost little one?" The little girl didn't respond, just stared up at him with her big sad eyes. Before Ray knew what was happening something struck him over the head. He collapsed onto the wet pavement, unconscious.

A large man emerged from the shadows and flung Ray over his shoulder. "Get up," he said in a rough voice to the little girl. She stood up then followed the man as he walked off down the alley.

…

Alice walked down the street; she had just gotten out of school and was meeting up with some of her friends that went to a different school. She herself had graduated from high school at 13 and earned a double master's by age 15. Alice already knew what she wanted to do with her life, she had always known. She was working hard to follow in the footsteps of her biological father. So now, at 16 years old, she had a PHD in Psychology was the youngest student at the FBI Academy.

"Hey Ali!" her friend 'Mantha yelled as she ran to meet up with her.

"Hey 'Mantha," Alice replied. 'Mantha was her best friend and a senior at the local high school. "Where are the twins?"

"Home sick, you know Charlie. If Jenna is sick he won't leave her side."

"I hope she feels better soon," Alice said. They walked down to the closest fast food place and ordered a couple of sandwiches and a huge order of chili cheese fries. "I really shouldn't be eating this…." she sighed.

"Oh please," 'Mantha said. "All you do is work out. One time eating junk isn't going to hurt you."

Alice smiled. "You're right," she said. "Besides, it's Friday, I aced my tests, I earned this."

"Exactly," 'Mantha said, taking a bite of her burger.

Alice was just about to take a bite of the fries when her phone started ringing. She sighed and put her fork down then answered her phone. "Hello?"

"Who is it?" 'Mantha asked. Alice waved her off.

"Oh hi agent Hotchner….yes I'm free….ok no problem…. I don't mind watching Henry too….ok I'll be right over." She hung up. "That was Agent Hotchner," Alice said. "He and J.J. need me to babysit so Henry is going home with Jack and I'm going to watch them at agent Hotchner's place. He said I could a friend with because they might be gone all night."

"Oh ok, yeah I'll come with if you want."

"Thanks 'Mantha," Alice said. They took a couple of bites of the fries and grabbed their sandwiches then headed over to Agent Hotchner's house.


	3. The Case

Ch 2

Aaron Hotchner sat at the round table listening to Garcia explain the case. The first victim had been found in the park; her body had been mutilated and hung from a tree and a Jack of Spades with the name Alice written in her own blood had been crammed into her mouth.

"You know," Reid said. "There was a series of killings in Japan from 1999-2005 that was a lot like this. The first victim was found in a similar way… she was found in the woods about a mile from her house by a couple that had been out walking. Her body had been torn apart and impaled on various tree branches. She also had a Jack of Spades with the name Alice written on it crammed in her mouth."

"Was the case ever solved?" Blake asked.

"No…" Reid replied. "The there were no finger prints or DNA found…the case was and is still cold."

"So you think it might be the same person?" Blake asked.

"It's possible," Reid said. "But not likely, it's very unlikely that a killer would disappear for 8 years then reappear in a different country, in fact the odds are-"

"We don't need to know the exact statistics Pretty Boy," Morgan said cutting him off.

"Now a second person has gone missing," Garcia said. "Local office worker 26 year old Ray Taylor was reported missing by his wife two days ago after he didn't come home from work. He was last seen at an auto repair shop after having his car towed there."

"Reid and Rossi, you two check out the auto repair shop," Hotch said. "Morgan and Blake will take the first crime scene, JJ will talk to Ray's wife, and I'll talk to the first victim's boyfriend."


	4. The First Alice

Ch 3

Spencer and Rossi walked out of the auto repair shop. "Well that was pointless," Rossi said. "That guy didn't know a thing."

"Not necessarily," Reid said. "We know he was heading home when he went missing…we know he was walking. Logically he would have taken the shortest route, especially since it was raining. So if we follow the route he took home we might find something between here and there." The two of them drove to the nearest diner, ordered two coffees, and took out a map.

Reid went to work determining the shortest route from the auto repair place to Ray Taylor's house and Rossi called Hotch to update him on what was going on.

…

After carrying out their respective tasks the team met back in the conference room. They had questioned everyone they could and gone through everything they had so far; Spencer and Rossi hadn't found anything indicative of how or where Taylor had been taken, Blake and Morgan couldn't find any forensic evidence at the crime scene, and there was nothing that connected Ray Taylor to the first victim.

The first victim was 35 year old Ruby Johansson. She owned a local restaurant that was famous for its great customer service and delicious food from around the world. She was very social and loved going to parties and other social events. She was a great person to be around, unless you worked for her. While she was friendly and gracious to her friends and everyone else, she was extremely rude and sharp with her employees and often shouted and swore at them for no reason at all.

Ray Taylor was an ordinary office worker. He was a quiet man, he was kind to everyone, had lots of friends. He also had a real passion for music, I his free time he often performed at various clubs and bars, singing and playing the guitar or piano. He also taught music lessons on the weekend. The two couldn't be any more different from each other, though it was possible that they had met at some point. Taylor could have easily eaten at Johansson's restaurant at any time and Johansson could have been at any of the bars or clubs that Taylor performed at, so there was a chance they did know each other. But was that enough to link them together here?

"It would have had to have been a man," Morgan said, "If he was able to overpower and carry off both victims. There was no evidence of the Johansson's body being dragged on the ground in the woods, though the amount of blood that was still there suggests that she was cut apart at the scene, the cause of death was blood loss… She was still alive when the UnSub took her apart."

"It could have been one of her employees," JJ said, "or a former employee. I've heard that she treated them pretty badly."

"Right," Hotch said before going down to Garcia's tech lair. "Garcia I need you to get a list of Johansson's male employees, check and see if any of them have anger issues or have been fired or formally disciplined recently."

"You got it," Garcia replied as she started her search.

…

Hotch walked into his house, Alice was reading a book and Jack was in his pajamas and asleep on the couch, Henry had already been picked up by Will at this point. "Hello Agent Hotchner," Alice said, closing her book. "I tried to get Jack to go to bed…but he was determined to wait up for you… but he did take his shower and brush his teeth. He ate all of his dinner and his homework is all done, as are the dishes."

"Thank you Alice," Hotch said. "Do you need a ride home?"

"No," she said. "Jasper said he'd pick me up… I just need to call him and let him know that you're back." Jasper was the man that had adopted her after her mother had been killed, he was great and she loved him, after all, he had saved her from the hell hole of a foster home. But she had gone her whole life without a dad; it just felt weird to call him that, especially since she knew who her real dad was. Even if he didn't. Alice dialed Jasper's number…he didn't pick up so she tried again. Still nothing, she sighed. "He must have fallen asleep…"

"I can drive you home," Hotch said.

"No…that's alright," she replied, putting her book in her back pack. "It's not that far, I can walk."

"Alice, there's a killer on the loose and it's the middle of the night." Hotch protested.

"I know...the one that killed Ruby…" she said

"You're on first name terms with her?" Hotch asked, confused.

"She was Jasper's fiancée…. I have no idea what he saw in her…" Alice said.

"You didn't like her?" Hotch asked

"I didn't like her at all…. And she only liked him for his money," Alice replied. "And…she was planning on making him get rid of me… I heard them talking about it."

"I'm sure he wouldn't have given you up for her," Hotch said.

"I'm glad one of us is…." Alice blinked tears out of her eyes and shook her head. "I'm sorry… I shouldn't be unloading all of this onto you… I'm sure you want to get to bed….it is pretty late."

"It's alright Alice," Hotch said. "Now come on… I'll drive you home." Alice sighed but decided not to argue, it was really late and she was tired. She wasn't worried about killers; she knew they were out there. That's why she always waked in areas that were well lit and always had Annie on her. Annie was the gun that Jasper had given her for protection, between Annie and her combat skills Alice always felt safe.


	5. The Second Alice (If Only)

Ch 4

Several days had passed and the team had no more suspects. They had questioned all of Johansson's employees and Taylor's coworkers. They all had solid alibis. They were at the round table trying to decide what to do next when Hotch's phone rang. He picked up, "Alice?" he asked. He hung up after a few minutes. That was Alice, she just found the second victim…she says it's bad.

They met Alice in front of the music studio where she had told them to come to. "He's in here," she said. It was obvious that she had been crying. "I didn't touch anything…promise." With that she turned around and led them into the building. Ray was slumped over a table. He had been shot in the head and clutched in his hand were his vocal chords which had been ripped from his throat, and a playing card. After putting on a pair of gloves Spencer carefully pulled the card from Taylor's hand. The color drained from his face. "What…?" Alice asked. Spencer turned it around to show the others. It was a King of Diamonds with "Alice" written on it in blood.

"Alice…" Hotch said slowly. "What were you doing here…?" She pointed shakily to the guitar case that had been dropped n the floor.

"Mr. Taylor was my music teacher…he was teaching me how to play the guitar…he does his lessons here…I'm first on the schedule…" She said.

"Alice…I think you need to come with us," JJ said.

"You think I did this?!" Alice asked. She didn't mean to yell but she was freaked out.

"No…but you might be involved… if you're the first person who comes in here in the morning other than Mr. Taylor…then he might have been left for you to find…and you might be in danger." Reid said gently.

The team took Alice back to the conference room. "Alice, can you think of anyone that might want to hurt you?" Rossi asked her. Alice didn't respond at first, she was still a little dazed. "Alice?" he asked again.

"Yes….yes I can…. A lot of people actually….." she said.

"Care to elaborate on that?" Morgan asked her.

"Well….guess I should start from the beginning. There's the man that murdered my mother when I was a kid…he was going to kill me too but couldn't find me….. he was never found…." The team shifted uncomfortably, except for Blake who was not part of the team yet at that point. "then there's any one of the three foster families that I was in before Jasper took me in….there were a lot of people in my high school that beat me up every day….I'm sure you know all about that Reid….it's not easy being a child prodigy….especially in high school when everyone is at least 4 years older than you and jealous…." Spencer looked at her sympathetically.

"Yeah…" he said, "it is rough…"

"Damn Pretty Boy," Morgan said, "If she was about 10 years older you'd have a girlfriend." He was met with glares.

"Are there any specific people that you think would want to hurt you or could be capable of this?" Blake asked.

"Well…there's all three of my foster dads...my foster brother Jason… the guy that killed my mom, a few of the football players from my high school, Kaleb Jackson from my class, and a couple of other guys from my class….but I don't know their names…" Alice said.


	6. Missing

Ch 5

Several hours had passed and Alice was sitting in Garcia's "tech lair". The team had wanted her to stay with them for the time being just to be safe. Alice pulled her phone out her pocket when she felt it start to vibrate. "I'm going to step out for a minute Miss Garcia," Alice said. "It's Jasper…."

"OK," Garcia said.

Alice stepped out and answered her phone. "Hi Jasper," she said.

"Where the Hell are you, Alice?!" he yelled through the phone. "You were supposed to be home HOURS ago! Get your ass home right NOW! You are in SO much trouble it's not even funny."

_Great_, Alice thought. _He's drunk again._ "Jasper…. I called you hours ago and told you I was at the FBI HQ in Quantico…" Jasper started screaming at her again. "Jasper…please… I told you where I was…" he kept screaming at her. "OK….OK…. I'll talk to them…. Yes I'll come home." Alice walked back into talk to Garcia. "Hey….that was Jasper… He's really mad…. I need to get home…"

"Oh…alright," she said. "Just call Hotch and let him know so he doesn't worry."

"OK," Alice said. She called Hotch and told him what was going on then headed home.

…

Alice walked in the front door. "Jasper," she said. "I'm home…" Jasper stormed into the room.

"Well it's about time!" he roared. Alice had never seen him this angry.

"Jasper," she said again, "I told you where I was hours ago."

"Don't you talk back to me!" Jasper said, striking her. Alice was knocked backward by the blow. She couldn't believe it. In the three years Alice had lived with him, Jasper had never hit her, he'd never even yelled at her.

She went into her bedroom as soon as she could. She couldn't believe it, Jasper hit her. He actually hit her. She considered calling Hotch or JJ, or even Will. She didn't want to stay here with Jasper in his current mood, but she didn't want to bother them. So she just flopped down on her bed and stared at the ceiling. She had no idea how long she had lain there before her phone went off. She looked at it; it was Mrs. Connors, Jenna and Charlie's mom.

"Hi Mrs. Connors," she said, hoping that her voice didn't sound as shaky as she felt. "What's going on?"

"Are 'Mantha and the twins over there?" she asked, sounding extremely worried.

"No…," Alice said. "Why?"

"Well…" Mrs. Connors said, "The twins said they were going over to Samantha's house this morning, but they never got there… I talked to her mother…she said that Samantha had gone to meet them half way and walk back with them but they never got there…we thought that maybe they had gone over to your house instead and simply forgot to tell us."

"I'm sorry Mrs. Connors…they're not here," Alice said.

"Well then where are they?!" she asked sounding terrified.

"I have no idea…" Alice said….she was extremely worried now. Where could they be? All the color drained from her face and she felt sick to her stomach. What if they had been taken by the Alice Killer, the name that the media had given the UnSub. "I don't know…" she said again.

"What if they've been taken by the Alice Killer?!" Mrs. Connors shrieked. Alice cringed. "I have to go now, I'm calling the police" and with that Mrs. Connors hung up.

Alice went to the window, meaning to climb out, and but cringed when she saw her reflection. Her cheek had turned into one big nasty bruise where Jasper had hit her. She covered it the best she could then grabbed her purse and climbed out the window.

She searched everywhere she could think of and tried calling all three of them multiple times but came up with nothing. She talked to a few people but they were of no help either. After receiving another distressed call from Mrs. Connors saying that the police were refusing to even try to look for 'Mantha and the twins Alice decided to call Hotch. Surely he'd be able to help.

"Agent Hotchner?" she said when he answered. "Samantha Hayes and Charlie and Jenna Connors have gone missing sir…and the police are refusing to even try to look for them….please… they're my best friends…and I don't know who else to go to." Alice was almost in tears at this point. She couldn't believe this was happening. She tried to feel relieved when Hotch told her that they would do everything they could to get her friends back but she was feeling too sick.

Alice went back home hoping that she could slip back inside and praying that Jasper hadn't realized that she was gone yet. She got home just in time to see Jasper leaving and realized right away that something was wrong. She grabbed her bike and took off after him.


	7. The Third Alice (He Did WHAT?)

Ch 6

"Guys," JJ said hanging up her phone. "There's been another body found, they said it couldn't have been there for more than a few hours at most."

"Where was it found?" Rossi asked.

"In the park again…not as far out as the first victim." JJ replied. The team went to the park, the local police were there waiting for them.

"The body is over here," one of the cops said and with that she led the team to the dump site.

The victim was lying in a shallow grave, her body was horribly mutilated and her blond and blue hair was matted with blood. Hotch stiffened at the sight of her. "This was found sticking out of the ground on top of the grave" the officer said, holding up a stick that had a Queen of Clubs with "Alice" written across it. Hotch turned on her.

"Do you know who this is?" he asked her, forcing his voice to remain calm. The officer just shook her head. Hotch took out his phone and pulled up the picture of 'Mantha that Alice had sent him earlier. He turned it so the cop could see. "This is Samantha Hayes, one of the kids that were reported missing earlier, one of the ones that you refused to look for."

"But…" the officer said "the Alice Killer was only killing adults…." Hotch sighed.

"You didn't find it the least bit alarming when three people were reported missing," Rossi said angrily. "Especially when there's a serial killer on the loose and a body was found earlier today?" he was beyond furious. How could they have possibly been this stupid?

"We need to let her family and Alice know that she was found," Hotch said.

"Was there any sign of the other two kids?" Morgan asked.

"No…no sign of any other bodies….we checked" the cop said.

Reid called Garcia to have her find 'Mantha's home phone number. Meanwhile, Hotch tried to call Alice. "That's weird," Hotch said.

"What?" Blake asked.

"Her phone went to voicemail," Hotch said. The others went pale.

"You don't think she was taken too….do you?" JJ asked.

"At this rate…she might have been. The UnSub has already taken three kids; all of them close friends of hers. And we know he has some sort of weird obsession with her," Blake said.

"He could've gotten her number from any one of them…he might've called her…offered her a trade." Rossi said. "Her for the twins…"

"And she would've taken it…she'd do anything for her friends." Hotch said. "We'll check her house first. She might have left a note or something." So they went to her house only to find it empty. They went in the open garage door and checked the entire house. There was no sign of Alice or Jasper and there was no note. They went back outside to find a neighbor standing in the driveway.

"I saw Mr. Payne leave a few hours ago," she said. "Alice followed him on her bike. I'll tell ya…Jasper's been real odd all day."

"How so?" Hotch asked.

"He keeps comin' an' goin'. Didn't even stop to chat… it's not like him. Not at all." Mrs. Caraway said. "And I heard him yellin' at Alice earlier tonight, about an hour or so before he left. That's not like him at all. He never raises his voice, especially not to her. So I went to my window, I could see into their front room from their cuz the window and blinds were open. I about fainted when I saw him slap her"

"He hit her?" Rossi asked, his fists clenched. He liked Alice a lot. She was a good smart girl, never did anything wrong, never acted out. He knew because he'd checked in on her frequently ever since her mother died. He still felt guilty about not being able to catch the killer. They all did.

"Hard enough to knock her to the floor. And she's a strong girl." She said, shaking her head sadly. "I know she didn't deserve it. They went that way." She pointed down the street. "I don't know any more than that. You bring that sweet girl home ya hear?"

"Don't worry, we'll find them." Rossi said. They got in their cars and started in the direction the old woman had indicated. Morgan called Garcia.

"Hey baby girl," he said. "I need you to do something."

"Ask and you shall receive," she said getting ready to do whatever he asked her.

"I need you to track Alice's cell."

"Oh god, is she missing?" Garcia asked.

"We don't know yet, but we can't get a hold of her and her neighbor said some weird stuff was going on." A few minutes passed, Morgan could hear Garcia typing away on her computer.

"Got her," she said. "She's in an old abandoned apartment building that's scheduled for demolition. I just sent the directions to your GPSs."

"Thanks Mama," Morgan said.

"Oh no…" Garcia said.

"What?"

"I just lost her, her phone shut off."

"Maybe the battery died?" Morgan suggested.

"Maybe…." Garcia didn't sound any more sure than Morgan did.


	8. Revelations

Ch 7

"Why are you doing this?!" Alice yelled. Jasper had her chained to a metal pipe in the basement of an abandoned apartment building. The chain was long enough that she could move around some and she was kneeling next to the twins who were dying slowly of poison.

"They were getting too close! All of them!" he yelled.

"What…?" Alice said, shocked.

"I was going to lose you! And after all I did to get you!"

"I don't understand….you just adopted me from a shelter…."

"You should have been mine to begin with! But your whore mother cheated on me!"

"You're lying!" Alice nearly sobbed. "My mother was not a whore!"

"She decided that I wasn't enough for her anymore she slept with another man! She had to pay! And as soon as I find the bastard so will he!"

"You….you killed mom…." Alice was stunned. Jasper had killed her mom….JASPER had killed her mom.

"She took you away from me!" he shouted.

"You're a monster…" Alice gasped.

"FBI!" Morgan yelled coming down the stairs, gun trained on Jasper. He was followed shortly by the rest of the team.

"Thank God!" Alice cried. She tried to run to the agents but was yanked back by the chain. She pulled at it trying to get free but had no such luck. "He's gone crazy!" Jasper whipped out a gun and aimed it at the team.

"Stay back!" Jasper yelled.

"Mr. Thomas put the gun down," Blake said, her own gun still trained on Jasper.

"I warned you!" Jasper shouted as he shot at Reid who was trying to slip over to where the twins were.

"NO!" Alice shouted as she jumped in between Reid and the bullet. It lodged itself in her chest. Alice groaned and collapsed.

"ALICE!" they all yelled. Alice lay unconscious on the floor losing blood rapidly. Her breaths came in short, shallow, wheezing gasps.

"We will NOT be separated again!" Jasper shouted before putting the gun in his mouth and pulling the trigger.


	9. The Surprise

Ch 8

The team had followed the ambulances that took Alice and the twins. Mrs. Hayes had been called and was there waiting for the twins to wake up. The doctors had been able to treat the poison in time and they would make a full recovery. A doctor came out to talk to them about Alice. "Will she be alright?" Hotch asked.

"She's lost too much blood," the doctor said. "We don't have enough of her type right now…we're doing the best we can to keep her stable right now but if we attempt to operate on her she would die on the table." Spencer put his head in his hands.

"This is all my fault," he sighed. JJ put her arm around him gently, trying to comfort him.

"We could pull all of your records to see if any of you would be compatible," the doctor continued. "If one of you would be willing to donate we may be able to save her."

"Of course," they all replied. All of their records were pulled to see if any of them were a match.

"Agent Rossi," the doctor said. "You are compatible with the girl. Would you be willing to donate?"

"Yes," Rossi said firmly. The doctor took him into a different room so he could take some blood to run quick tests to make sure it was clean. The tests were put on first priority and when they came back clean the doctor went ahead and took 2 pints of blood.

…

The team sat in the waiting room. Several hours had passed and Rossi had fallen asleep in a chair; the others were talking quietly. "That poor girl…" JJ said. "When she's released she'll be put back into foster care…"

"Maybe not…" Blake said. "She's almost 16, she might be emancipated." Hotch called Garcia.

"Garcia," he said

"How is she?" she asked.

"We don't know yet," Hotch said. "She's still in surgery,"

"Oh God…"

"Have found any living relatives yet?" Hotch asked

"None…well…none that want anything to do with her…" Garcia said.

"What do you mean?" Hotch asked.

"Well…" Garcia started, "Her mother was an only child…her parents died when she was 22…. Jasper…Jasper was her husband…but not Alice's biological father…after Jasper's family found out they completely disowned Alice and her mother."

"Can you find her biological father?" Hotch asked.

"I'm looking sir….oh you're not going to believe this," Garcia said.

"What?"

"I just found pictures of Alice's mother's last boyfriend before she married Jasper….I just sent his picture to your tablet. I can't say for sure that he's her father yet…but still…" Garcia said. Hotch picked up his tablet and pulled up the picture Garcia sent her. He was stunned. "We can test his DNA against Alice's….he might be her father…"

"If that's the case," Hotch said, "then that would explain a few things…like why whenever we checked on her or when he came over when she was babysitting for me or JJ she acted so weird around him…"


	10. Memories (Will She Make It?)

Ch 9

Another hour had passed and there was still no word on Alice; Garcia was there now waiting with the rest of the team. "What did I miss…?" Rossi asked, just waking up from his nap. "Have we heard anything yet?"

"No," Hotch said, "She's still in surgery." He went over to sit next to David and pulled up the picture of him and Alice's mother. "David…do you remember this woman?" He showed him the picture. Rossi stared at the photo for a moment.

"Yes…," Rossi said, "I remember her…her name is Marie Tracy…I was with her for a…." suddenly he made the connection. The realization hit him like a ton of bricks. "Alice's mother….that's Alice's mother…." Rossi couldn't believe that he hadn't recognized her that night…but then again…it had been almost 10 years since he had seen her.

"Did you ever…?" Hotch started to ask.

"Sleep with her? Yes…I did, that was….almost 16 years ago….." he said.

"Then there's a strong possibility…that you are Alice's biological father…." Garcia said. The rest of the team was in shock.

"I want to know for sure," Rossi said. Rossi got up shakily; he was still pretty weak from donating so much blood. He went up to a nurse, "excuse me miss," he said. "I think…I think that the young girl that's in surgery, Alice Payne, I think she may be my daughter…"

"What do you mean?" the nurse asked. Rossi explained the situation to the nurse and why he thought he might be Alice's father.

…

Rossi looked at his watch, it was 5 am. They had been there for 7 hours and still hadn't heard anything. Spencer and Garcia were asleep…they'd been taking turns resting so someone would be awake when Alice got out of surgery. A nurse came over to them and told them again that they could go home and that they would call one of them when she came out of surgery. "We're not leaving," Rossi said. The nurse smiled and nodded sympathetically.

"I hope your results come back positive," she said, "You don't even know if she is your daughter yet but you're already so devoted to her…you'll be a great father."

"How much longer do you think she'll be in surgery?" Rossi asked.

"It's hard to say…" the nurse said, "it could be another three hours….it could be more…."

"What's the timing for the worst case scenario?" Hotch asked.

"Worst case scenario…" the nurse said, "Something goes terribly wrong and she's on the table for another nine hours or more." The nurse saw the looks on their faces and quickly added "But because she got here quickly and she's young, healthy, and in excellent physical condition it's unlikely that that will happen. Most likely she'll be out of surgery in about 4 hours."

…

6 hours had passed and Garcia was completely freaking out on the nurse. "You said Alice would be out by now!" She yelled. The nurse looked absolutely terrified. She had absolutely no idea what this strangely dressed woman was talking about.

"Hold up baby girl," Morgan said putting his hand on her shoulder. "That's not even the same nurse that told Rossi that."

"What…?" she said.

"Garcia….that's not the same nurse. She went home." Morgan  
said again.

"But…" Garcia turned on the nurse again. "Why isn't she out of surgery yet?!"

"I don't know ma'am," the nurse said. "I'm sorry but I really don't." Just then a doctor came out looking exhausted but pleased.

"Miss Payne is out of surgery now," she said. "The operation was a complete success. The bullet that was lodged between her heart and left lung was removed and the damage was repaired. She should make a full recovery."

"Should?" Garcia asked. "Should is NOT good enough."

"I understand your concern ma'am," the doctor said, "but while she mostly likely WILL make a full recovery, there is always a possibility that a complication will present itself in the form of an infection."


	11. Roads to Recovery

Ch 10

Rossi was sitting next to Alice holding her hand. Alice had been in the hospital for almost a week now and was able to stay awake for longer periods of time, but right now she was asleep. He reached down with his free hand and ran his fingers very gently through her long black hair. He hadn't gotten the results from the paternity test yet but he had decided that he would adopt her if it turned out that he wasn't her biological father; he felt that he was responsible for her and owed it to Marie to care for her only daughter. Rossi had also come to care very deeply for Alice. There was a soft knock on the door. "Come in," he said. Blake came in.

"Hey," she said putting her hand on his shoulder, "how are you holding up?"

"I'm fine," he said. "Just worried…"

"I'm sure she'll be alright," Blake said.

"She gets stronger every day…she sat up for a little while earlier…then the doctor had to knock her out," he said.

"Why?" Blake asked.

"She tried to get up and go to school," Rossi replied.

"Wow…," she said. She looked around the room. "So…what's with all of the stuffed animals…?"

"Garcia brought them," Rossi said with a small smile. "She didn't want Alice to be in a boring room."Blake smiled.

…

Reid was sitting in another room in a different part of the hospital, talking to Maeve. By some miracle they had managed to get her to the hospital in time for her to be saved from the would-be fatal gunshot wound, but the trauma and loss of blood had sent her into a coma. The six and a half months that she had been out were the absolute worst of his entire life. He hadn't been able to sleep, he hadn't been able to eat, he hadn't even been able to read; it brought him absolutely no pleasure because all he could think about was Maeve lying there in her hospital bed.

When she had finally opened her eyes and said his name three weeks ago he had literally cried tears of joy. Now she was strong enough to sit up and even walk a few feet at a time. He couldn't believe it, that he had almost lost her, and even more unbelievable, that in spite of that she was here now, alive… He couldn't believe what he had almost let happen and he was determined that he would never, ever lose her again. As soon as Maeve was released from the hospital he was going to work up the nerve to propose to her.

"Alice is doing much better now," he said.

"That's great," she said. "She sounds wonderful, a lot like a certain genius I know." She kissed him on the cheek.

"Yeah…I guess we kind of are somewhat alike…" he replied.

"I wanna meet her…let's go!" she pleaded happily and stood up. Spencer gently pushed her back down so she was sitting.

"You're not ready to walk quite that far yet," he said absolutely hating the disappointed look on her face. "I'll go talk to a nurse and get you a wheelchair." He kissed her on the cheek then went to find a nurse.

…

Rossi was sitting by Alice, still holding her hand. Her eyes opened slowly. "Hey…" she said groggily.

"How do you feel?" Rossi asked her.

"Sleepy…irritated…" she said. "I can't believe they knocked me out…"

"You tried to leave too soon…they were afraid you'd hurt yourself" Rossi said.

"Isn't there any way you can get me out of here?" Alice pleaded sitting up. She was determined to get out as soon as possible. She had to.

"Alice," Rossi said gently. "Your body isn't recovered enough to leave yet." Alice slumped against the pillow behind her back. Rossi hated how sad she looked. "You'll be out soon."

"Not soon enough…" Alice sighed miserably. "Not soon enough…."

"Not soon enough for what?" Blake asked.

"I'm falling behind….if I'm in here much longer I'm going to fail…." She moaned. "If I fail…..if I fail….." she could feel a lump forming in her throat. _No,_ she thought, _I am NOT going to cry in front of them._ Alice blinked away the forming tears. "I promised my mother that I wouldn't fail…no matter what…" Rossi squeezed her hand reassuringly.

"You won't fail." He promised her. She was about to respond but was stopped by a knock on the door.

"Come in," she said, burying all of her worry and sadness. Reid came in with a woman she had never met before. "Hi Spencer," it felt weird calling him by his first name but he had insisted.

"Hi Alice," he said. "Maeve….this is Alice. Alice, this is Maeve."

"Hi Maeve" Alice said. Next thing she knew this woman, Maeve, had her in a tight embrace; it hurt a lot but she wouldn't show it. Then suddenly the woman was sobbing. "Um….."

"Thank you so much!" she sobbed. "You saved Spencer's life….if I had lost him….I don't know what I would have done…."

"It wasn't even really a decision…" Alice said quietly. "He's my friend….when I saw he was in danger….my body just responded….to be honest I don't even remember jumping in between him and Jasper….it was just instinct I guess….and maybe….part of it….was just out of selfishness…."

"What do you mean 'selfishness'?" Maeve asked her.

"You took a bullet for someone," Rossi said. "You almost **died**."

"I didn't want to lose anyone else," she whispered.


	12. Good News!

Ch 11

Hours passed and Alice was feeling exhausted but happy. The team had been coming and going all day with the exception of Rossi who had barely left her side since she got out of surgery. "Hey Rossi…" She said. "What's going to happen to my sister…?" She was talking about Natalie Payne, a little blond haired girl that Jasper had brought home about a year ago. He had found her wandering the streets one night and just brought her home. A few days later the paperwork was filled out and she became Alice's little sister. Alice was really worried about Natalie; ever since the killings started she had become more and more reclusive. She hadn't been talking to anyone, she had stopped playing, and she had just sat in her room doing who knows what.

"Well…" he said "I could adopt her or one of her friends parents might take her in…we'll figure it out. But don't worry. I won't let her go into foster care."

"Thank you…" Alice said. There was a knock on the door. "Come in." A nurse came in carrying a plate of food for her as well as her antibiotic. "Thank you." She said as the nurse put the plate on the tray beside her bed.

"Do you need anything else?" the nurse asked her. "What's your pain level?"

"2 or 3…" Alice said. In actuality it was more like a four or five because her last dose of pain killers was wearing off but she would never admit that. She had to be strong.

"Alright Ms. Payne," she said. "A doctor will be in to see you before you go to bed."

"What do you mean 'go to bed'…" Alice mumbled under her breath as the nurse was leaving. "I've been in bed since I got here…" A few minutes later a doctor entered the room.

"Hello," he said. "My name is Dr. Crane, Agent Rossi we have received your test results."

"And?" Rossi asked anxiously.

"You have some paperwork to fill out," he said. Rossi gave him a puzzled look. "Your test results came back positive. You are indeed Alice's father. If you'll come with me sir, we have the paperwork ready for you. You need to fill it out to gain custody of her."

Alice and Rossi grinned. They both already knew that he was her father; Alice had known from the first time that she had seen Rossi the night her mother had been murdered, but it was nice to have it confirmed. "I'll be right back," Rossi said as he went to fill out the paperwork to make Alice legally his.


	13. The End?

Epilog 

Rossi walked back to Alice's room, he couldn't believe how long it had taken to fill out all of that paperwork, but part of that was starting the process of adopting her little sister as well. He knocked on her door. "Alice?" There was no response. _She must have dozed off_, he thought. He went in quietly. "Alice?" Rossi looked around, trying to find her, the door to the bathroom was open and Alice wasn't in there. He went to the closest nurse's station, trying not to panic. "Excuse me ma'am, do you know where Alice Payne is? She's not in her room."

"What do you mean she's not in her room?" the nurse asked standing up. She ran to check Alice's room, it was empty.

"Did anyone go into Alice's room while I was gone?" Rossi asked her.

"Only her younger sister," she said. "She came in by herself…said one of her friend's parents dropped her off."

Rossi called Hotch. "Aaron," he said, "We have a problem."

…

Alice heard voices but couldn't quite tell what they were saying or even where they were coming from. All she knew was that that her head was pounding and she was still groggy. _That's funny,_ she thought, _I don't remember falling asleep._ She went to stretch and sit up but found that she couldn't move. "What the Hell?!" she opened her eyes to see Natalie sitting next to her. "Nellie..? Nellie what's going on?" it was obvious that she had been crying.

"I'm so sorry Alice…!" she bawled. "I didn't know… I'm so sorry!"

"What are you talking about Nellie…?" Alice asked, thoroughly confused.

"Hello Alice," said a familiar, icy voice.


End file.
